The Netherlands joined England in the final of the UEFA Under-17 Championship after defeating Scotland 5-0 in the second semi-final at the National Stadium on Sunday.

The Dutch were clearly the better side right from the start but had to wait until five minutes from the end of the first half to break the deadlock thanks to a penalty.

For Scotland, it was a disappointing defeat after they had defeated the odds and reached the semi-finals thanks to two wins over Germany and Switzerland.

Photo: Copyright © Paul Zammit Cutajar

The Dutch held the initiative during the first half, going close on various occasions and in particular through Steven Bergwijn.

However on the 35th minute, referee Jonathan Lardot ordered a penalty after Cameron Ballantyne floored Jari Schuurman inside the area and from the penalty spot, Calvin Verdonk made no mistake to put the Netherlands ahead.

Three minutes later, the Dutch doubled the score when off a pass by Bergwijn from the right, Aidan Nesbitt’s clearance hit goalkeeper Robby McCrorie and the ball fell in the path of Abdelhak Nouri who placed the ball at the back of the net from close range.

Two minutes in the second half, Steven Bergwijn went close to scoring a third one with a diagonal shot from the left which hit the foot of the upright.

Steven Bergwijn was however not to be denied on 57 minutes when he received an assist by Schuurman, dribbled a defender and beat McCrorie with a low shot which ended in the bottom corner to make it 3-0.

Two minutes later, Oluwasegun Owobowale scored the fourth goal when he concluded a good move on the right with a rising shot which saw the ball hit the crossbar before ending at the back of the net.

Seven minutes from the end, Netherlands sealed the issue with the fifth goal when a shot by Nouri was partially saved by McCrorie and off the rebound, substitute Dani van der Moot slammed the ball home from the left.

Photos: Copyright © Paul Zammit Cutajar

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NETHERLANDS Yanick van Osch, Hidde ter Avest. Keziah Veendorp, Calvin Verdonk, Wellington Verloo, Donny van de Beek (73′ Kenneth Paal), Jari Schuurman, Abdelhak Nouri, Steven Bergwijn (68′ Dani van der Moot), Oluwasegun Owobowale, Bilal Ould-Chikh (60′ Marlon Slabbekoorn).

SCOTLAND Robby McCrorie, Jack Breslin, Kyle Cameron, Zak Jules, Joseph Thomson, Aidan Nesbitt, Cameron Ballantyne, Jake Sheppard (54′ Steven Boyd), Craig Wighton (80′ Thomas Lang), Scott Wright (74′ Sam Wardrop), Ryan Hardie.

Referee: Jonathan Lardot (BEL)